Men’s Soccer Defeats Manhattan, 2-0, for Second Straight Road Win

RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Second-half goals from Ethan Heyward and Stepan Kapranov propelled the Columbia men’s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Manhattan on Saturday afternoon at Gaelic Park.
 
The shutout marked the second consecutive win and clean sheet for the Lions (2-1-1), who are now 11-1-3 all-time against the Jaspers. Manhattan fell to 2-3-0 on the season. Columbia has won consecutive road games for the first time since 2018.
 
Columbia broke the scoreless tie in the 58th minute. A corner kick sent in by Jack McDaid found the head of first-year Joshua Sosa at the far post. The header rattled off the woodwork, and Heyward was right there to pounce on the rebound to put the Lions up 1-0. It marked Heyward’s third goal of the season, tying for the team lead with McDaid.
 
The Lions doubled their advantage in the 78th minute. This time, Luke Zielinski was the catalyst, gaining control in the middle of the pitch and playing a ball to Kapranov, who was shielding his man from 10 yards outside the box. Kapranov played a clever one-touch flick over to Fadel Kone, who tapped it right back to Kapranov on the give-and-go. Kapranov was clean in on goal and finished into the top-right corner to secure the two-goal cushion.
 
Manhattan created early pressure in the opening half, forcing Columbia goalkeeper Aris Taki into action. Taki turned away back-to-back attempts from Cristiano Marsilii in the 29th and 33rd minutes, followed by another save on a strike from Giovanni Rivera in the 36th minute to keep the match scoreless going into halftime.
 
Columbia’s offense surged in the second frame, outshooting Manhattan 10-3 over the final 45 minutes. Oli Sacks and Jackson ten Oever both tested Jaspers keeper Philip Isaksson, who subbed on in goal to start the second half.
 
Taki finished the afternoon with four saves to earn his second career victory and second straight shutout in as many starts.
 
Columbia concludes a three-game road trip on Tuesday at Temple (0-4-2). Kickoff from the Temple Sports Complex in Philadelphia is slated for 4 p.m.

FOLLOW THE LIONS:

For the latest on Columbia men’s soccer, be sure to follow the team on X and Instagram (@CULionsMSOC), on Facebook (ColumbiaMensSoccer), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.